Serra Gaúcha

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Waterfall in Parque do Caracol in Canela, part of the Serra Gaúcha

The Serra Gaúcha, The Gaucho Mountain Range, is the mountainous region of northeastern Rio Grande do Sul state in southern Brazil. This mountainous region is home to many Brazilians of German or Italian descent. In consequence of this, the cities in the Serra Gaúcha reflect German and Italian influence through their architecture, gastronomy and culture.

The Serra Gaúcha is considered to be one of the most beautiful areas in the southern states of Brazil; however, many consider the region, as they consider much of southern Brazil, to be very "unBrazilian" because of its emphasis on cultures of the old world whereas cities like Rio de Janeiro and Salvador supposedly better exhibit what it is to be "Brazilian."

Several tourist routes run between the most picturesque cities in the Serra Gaúcha, principally the Germanesque Rota Romântica, the Italian-flavored Caminhos da Colônia, the Grape and Wine Rota da Uva e o Vinho tour and the area called the Região das Hortênsias which is populated by beautiful hydrangeas ("hortensias" in Portuguese).

Of the 75 cities in the Serra Gaúcha, the most important ones are Caxias do Sul, Bento Gonçalves, Gramado, Canela, Nova Petrópolis and Carlos Barbosa.

[edit] History

One of the Gramado City entry gates ingeniously decorated for Christmas with plastic poinsettias

The region was populated by European immigrants during the 19th century. Germans started arriving in 1824 and Italians in 1875. The Germans populated the low lands, close to river springs, while the Italians populated the high lands. Many aspects of both cultures can be felt throughout the region.

The towns of German colonization are composed by many small houses with typical German architecture and many of the trees were brought by the immigrants and some of the resulting settlements look like the small villages of Germany. Many of the Brazilians in the region still speak German, mainly the Riograndenser Hunsrückisch dialect.

In the towns colonized by Italian immigrants, the grape plantations are still abundant and it is still possible to see wine production in the these cities and villages. The city of Caxias do Sul celebrates this heritage during the Festa da Uva Festival. In these wine production areas, the Italian culture is very strong, specially in the Talian dialect, spoken by most people and in the Italian cuisine that the locals enjoy, such as polenta.